This invention relates generally to refrigeration devices, and more particularly, to control systems for refrigeration devices.
Current appliance revitalization efforts require electronic subsystems to operate different appliance platforms. For example, known household refrigerators include side-by-side single and double fresh food and freezer compartments, top mount, and bottom mount type refrigerators. A different control system is used in each refrigerator type. For example, a control system for a side-by-side refrigerator-controls the freezer temperature by controlling operation of a mullion damper. Such refrigerators may also include a fresh food fan and a variable or multi-speed fan-speed evaporator fan. Top mount refrigerators and bottom mount refrigerators are available with and without a mullion damper, the absence or presence of which affects the refrigerator controls. In addition, each type of refrigerator, i.e., side-by-side, top mount, and bottom mount, employ different control algorithms of varied efficiency in controlling refrigerator operation. Conventionally, different control systems have been employed to control different refrigerator platforms, which is undesirable from a manufacturing and service perspective. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a configurable control system to control various appliance platforms, such as side-by-side, top mount, and bottom mount refrigerators.
In addition, typical refrigerators require extended periods of time to cool food and beverages placed therein. For example, it typically takes about 4 hours to cool a six pack of soda to a refreshing temperature of about 45xc2x0 F. or less. Beverages, such as soda, are often desired to be chilled in much less time than several hours. Thus, occasionally these items are placed in a freezer compartment for rapid cooling. If not closely monitored, the items will freeze and possibly break the packaging enclosing the item and creating a mess in the freezer compartment.
Numerous quick chill and super cool compartments located in refrigerator fresh food storage compartments and freezer compartments have been proposed to more rapidly chill and/or maintain food and beverage items at desired controlled temperatures for long term storage. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,747,361, 4,358,932, 4,368,622, and 4,732,009. These compartments, however, undesirably reduce refrigerator compartment space, are difficult to clean and service, and have not proven capable of efficiently chilling foods and beverages in a desirable time frame, such, as for example, one half hour or less to chill a six pack of soda to a refreshing temperature. Furthermore, food or beverage items placed in chill compartments located in the freezer compartment are susceptible to undesirable freezing if not promptly removed by the user.
Attempts have also been made to provide thawing compartments located in a refrigerator fresh food storage compartment to thaw frozen foods. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,075. However, known thawing compartments also undesirably reduce refrigerator compartment space and are vulnerable to spoilage of food due to excessive temperatures in the compartments.
Accordingly, it would further be desirable to provide a quick chill and thawing system for use in a fresh food storage compartment that rapidly chills food and beverage items without freezing them, that timely thaws frozen items within the refrigeration compartment at controlled temperature levels to avoid spoilage of food, and that occupies a reduced amount of space in the refrigerator compartment.
In an exemplary embodiment, a refrigeration system includes a first refrigeration chamber, a second refrigeration chamber in flow communication with said the first refrigeration chamber, a sealed system for producing desired temperature conditions in the first refrigeration chamber and the second refrigeration chamber, and a controller operatively couple to the sealed system. The controller is configured to accept a plurality of user-selected inputs including at least a first refrigeration chamber temperature and a second refrigeration chamber temperature, and to execute a plurality of algorithms to selectively control the first refrigeration chamber at a temperature above the second refrigeration chamber and at a temperature below the second chamber. Thus, a versatile refrigeration system is provided wherein a single refrigeration chamber is selectively operable at temperatures above and below another refrigeration chamber in the system.